Rain
by something like human
Summary: pt 3 of the Storm Arc. WuFei must find cover at a place that holds many memories and perhaps a few enemies. And he's not the only one with problems there


Title: Rain 

Author: Something Like Human 

Feedback: somethinglikehuman1@excite.com 

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. 

Rating: PG13 

Warnings: Shounen ai (5 +2), adult themes, possible OOCness, language 

A/N: This should really be a warning, but I have never really watched the anime. I have read and re-read the manga. So any inconsistencies with the anime are more than likely due to that. 

Note on storyline: This is in the Storm Arc. It follows `Thunder' and `Dark Clouds'. You don't have read those to understand this but I'd like you to. 

I never thought that I would receive a directive like this one. I knew that the other pilots had used boarding schools as cover while they were on or between missions but I had blessedly been exempt from that experience. Not that boarding schools were a bad thing, but I had spent my entire childhood in them. Well, what part of my childhood that was not spent in the traditional upbringing in my colony or my training as a Gundam pilot. Now that my childhood had been abruptly cut short by the war, I was ironically returning to the exact same place where I left my innocence. I was not being sent to any boarding school, I was being sent to my old school. 

Upon arrival, I checked in at the main office. At least my cover was easy; I would just be myself returning to school after a year break. I had left for family obligations a year ago and I guess I was returning for similar obligations. Most of the people there knew why I had left and probably not question my return. At least that part of my plan was right when I entered the office, received my schedule, and sent on my way with only a familiar greeting from the secretary. The student assigned to escort me to my dorm was also a familiar face but I did not know him personally. 

"Welcome back, Chang," the blonde youth said brightly. "I see they gave you your old room back. Too bad you'll now be someone's roommate in it." 

"I'll be sharing a room?" I asked in disbelief. I always had a room to myself partly because I like my privacy and partly because most other boys cannot stand how early I get up in the morning to practice my katas. For some reason most Westernized kids think that the sunrise is something that one only sees in films. 

"Yeah, I guess they didn't know you were coming back so about a week ago, they put a new kid there. Although I'm sure that after a little while, they'll move him out for you. I can't see you two standing each other for even half the time of your old roommates,"  
he explained. 

I raised an eye brown in question. "He can't be that bad, can he?" 

"Night and day, Chang. You two are like night and day." 

That was all he got to say because we had made it to my room. I could already hear the loud rock music playing through the door. I bravely opened the door; it could not be any worse than facing mobile suits. It was just one roommate and only for a few weeks until the mission was done. Of course, my opinion was reassessed when I saw the mess that greeted me in my old room. There were books and papers spread all over the floor like a tornado had blown through. 

"Think you'll survive, Chang?" My escort joked. 

"I know I'll survive but I don't know about him," I stated turning back to the room before me. 

"Chang kill someone…that a good one," the blonde said before departing. "I'll see you in class." 

I shut the door tightly and sighed loudly. This was going to be a long couple of weeks. I stood there trying to figure out which bed was unoccupied -which was harder to determine than one would think because of them both being rumpled. Shaking my head, I laid my bag down on the bed closest to the window. That's where I liked to sleep anyways and if my roommate had a problem with it, he will just have to deal. Now all I had to do was find out how to turn that music off. 

"You kill someone? Nah…never happen.' 

I about jumped out of my skin at the cheerful voice that came from the doorway. With that music playing it was hard to hear anyone approach, but I should have at least heard something; the music was not that loud. I turned to glare at the intruder and shook my head at what I found. 

"I should have known," I muttered. "Me not kill people? Is that like saying you do not kill people, Maxwell?" 

"Something like that," I reply turning back to my quest of finding that blasting radio. "Why in the world do you have that noise playing when you weren't even in the room? Ugh…what is this?" 

Pilot 02 flopped on the bed closest to the door and reached down beside it to turn down the volume. "Good old American rock and roll, Wu. Blue Oyster Cult to be exact." 

I rolled my eyes and turned to look directly at him. It was almost strange to see him in anything but his usually black garb. He had the school's uniform on sans the burgundy suit coat which was draped over the back of the desk chair. His white dress shirt and gray slacks were wrinkled. It was evening so judging by how active the American usually is, it was understandable that the fabric would be a little worse for the wear after a long day. 

"Can't you even keep the room clean? How do you find anything?" I ask as I try to pick my way around books and papers so I can get to the chest of drawers to deposit my clothing. 

"It's all part of the cover, man," he replied nodding towards the mess. 

"It's not cover, Maxwell. It's a mess, unprofessional, unorganized, and lazy…"  
"Exactly, who would think annoying, lazy Maxwell was a soldier? I mean, I can barely find anything in here let alone someone else trying to look for something." 

"Ok. I'll concede your point, but why my room?" 

"S'not your room. I was here first; I came about a week ago," he replied as he picked up a book off the floor and leafed through it. 

"Wrong Maxwell. I was here first. This has been my room since I was little," I retort as I closed the last drawer. I walked over to the window and looked out at the school grounds; not much has changed in a year. Well, not much outside of myself has changed. 

"You went to school here?" He looked at me incredulously. "I thought you were from a colony in L5."  
"I am and I did go here. My parents thought I should get a Western education along with what the clan elders were teaching me." 

"Yeah, I was wondering. It's not like you'd blend in well here for cover. There isn't much of an Asian population here."  
"You're looking at it." 

"Must have been hard being all by yourself here and all…" He commented. I did not respond. He was right but that is beside the point. We were not here to stay, only long enough to receive our new orders and then ship out. I did not have to worry about what had happened before. 

The rest of the night's conversation settled around the missions we were just off of and where the last place we had heard the others were. When we were both about to turn in for the night, I finally noticed the ugly, green teddy bear lying on my roommate's pillow. He still had `Thunder' after all this time. It was almost reassuring, in an amusing way, that something had at least remained constant. 

The next morning, we left for class at different times, myself being the earlier of the two but Maxwell still made it on time. I did not even speak with him as he made his way into the classroom. I was too busy trying to dispel the crowd that was questioning me on my surprising return. 

"How come you're back? We thought you were leaving for good." 

"What's with your hair pulled back like that? Are you trying to make your eyes even more slanted?"  
"She get bored of you and send you back where you came from?"  
"She not putting out so you came back for some action?"  
"Idiot, it's a boy's school. He can't get any action here…"  
"Unless he's into that sort of thing…hey speak of the devil."  
All heads turned to watch Maxwell as he entered the room. "Good morning all!" 

Before anyone could respond the teacher entered and started class. Four classes of much of the same thing later, I found myself seated under a tree outside reading during my lunch period. The other pilot and I had a few classes together but I was not even sure he had the same lunch as me. When someone approached I assumed that it was him. Looking up, I realized that I was wrong. 

"We-we-wel-come b-b-back," the boy stammered out. 

"Thank you Stewart," I reply looking up at him. He had not changed much since the last time I saw him. His glasses were still too thick, face still broke out, ears still a bit too large for his face, and his red hair still curling no matter how much gel he put in it. "How are things with you?" 

"S-s-s-ame," he replied shrugging. 

"That bad?" I asked knowing I would only get a shrug in response. Stewart was not one for talking seeing as he could hardly speak clear enough for most people to understand him. 

"Wa-wa-why…"  
"Why am I back?" I clarify. Receiving a nod, I answer. "The colony was attacked and well, I survived and umm…" 

"S-s-sor-ry."  
"Thank you." 

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I can see that some things never change around here. We are both avoiding the cafeteria to avoid conflict but neither of us are admitting it. We both spent many days out under this tree if the weather was acceptable but mostly we sought refuge in the library. 

"Hey! There's my wayward roomie!" An all too cheerful voice exclaimed. "Hey, Stu!" 

"Maxwell," I acknowledge as Stewart waves. 

"What are you guys doing out here? It's lunch! You're supposed be eating. Why would you pass something like that up?" 

"The world does not revolve around food," I chide. 

"Yeah but when you're hungry it does!" 

"Maxwell, you're always hungry!"  
Stewart started laughing at our argument. I just shook my head. It was good to see the boy laughing. Maxwell always had a way to cheer people up that amazed me. Stewart did not have much of a chance to laugh at school with his speech impediment making him the butt of the joke most of the time. 

"Well if it isn't the Doll, the Stutterer, and the Fruit. Surprise, surprise, they're one big happy family," an older boy's voice sounded. I glared up at the boy. It was Joshua Blake, the usual ringleader. Behind him was his posse of older boys who followed whatever Blake said or did like he was a king. The fact was he was more like a dictator who would turn the group against anyone if they did not do as he wished. He and most of his minions would be seniors this year. 

"Yeah Josh, a nice big family. Now all we gotta do is figure out who wears the pants in the family," another boy continued. I looked over at Maxwell to see if he had a snide comment in return but he was uncharacteristically silent. 

"Well, China Doll, I'd say it was you who's the bull with them but I doubt it since you got sent back here. Not man enough for her, is that it? Did she send you away so she could find a real man?" 

"Blake," I growled. Just as I was rising to confront the boy, the skies let loose and it started raining and the other boys ran for the shelter of the buildings. You could always count on the weather around here to downpour at the worst possible moment. For once, I was going to defend my honor by fighting them and I missed my chance. I was different than the little `Doll' they remembered me being. 

"C'mon Fei, we're getting soaked. Let's go back to the dorms," Maxwell said breaking me from that line of thought. "You coming with us, Stu?"  
"Th-th-thera…"  
"You've got therapy this afternoon? Ok fine, Fei and I'll be around later." 

When we reached our room, we were both soaking wet. We changed our clothes and attempted to dry our hair. All the while, the other pilot was silent. I was still seething from the confrontation and not being able to retaliate. 

"Damn Blake and his drones. One of these days I'll show him what it's like to be beat by a Gundam pilot," I growled. "Bastard!" 

After another few minutes of silence, Duo looked up from toweling his hair. "What did he mean by what he said? Who was he talking about?"  
I stared out window for a moment lost in memory. "It was raining like this when I first fought her to prove my strength. I won that fight but lost the battle. Just like when the colony was attacked. I defeated the enemy but not before I lost her…" 

"Umm…Fei, who are you talking about? Who was she?" 

"My wife, Meilan." 

"I didn't know…" I whispered. 

"Yeah, we were just fourteen. It was arranged by the elders, neither of us wanted it," I explained equally as quiet. 

"Is that why you left school before? To get married?" When I nodded, he continued. "So, May Lin died?" 

"Meilan, and yes. She wanted to pilot Shenlong but was not strong enough. I was strong enough but did not wish to fight. When the colony was attacked, she went out in a mobile suit to stop them and by the time I finally got into the battle with the unfinished gundam, it was too late. She died in my arms after she protected the suit she had wished to pilot, the field of flowers, and me - her unwanted husband. Her spirit was strong enough to protect the gundam when her body was not so I renamed the suit after her."  
"Was `Nataku' her family name or something?" Duo queried. 

"No, it was what she called herself. To over simplify things, in Chinese mythology, Nataku was the god of Justice. Neither male nor female, it stood for justice above all else. That is what she fought for, what she died for."  
"Heh, no wonder we're unbeatable," He replied in a lighter tone. "We've got two gods on our side! Nataku and Shinigami!" 

I just shook my head. Once again, he managed to lighten the mood in one turn. I returned my gaze out the window. It was still raining and beginning to get foggy. Even though I loved storms, the dreariness of this place always depressed me. 

"So, how come you let that asshole talk to you like that? The WuFei I know wouldn't stand for it. I've seen you open a can for less!" 

"'Open a can' of what?"  
"Of whoop ass…oh never mind. Old American saying…" He replied dismissing it. "Why didn't you fight him?" 

"I never liked fighting when I was here. I always avoided it." 

"I should have figured that after you said you did not want to pilot the gundam. But you let him walk all over you just now…"  
Shrinking from the truth of the matter, I quickly responded. "I didn't see you doing anything to stop him either. " 

"You know me, I don't really care what other people think of me. I won't be here long anyways…" His voice trailed off uncertainly. "But you, on the other hand have years of retribution to deliver." 

"There's no real point, he's just all talk. He's harmless. I don't fight innocent civilians no matter how much I hate them. He just gets off on the power he thinks he gets by putting others down."  
"Yeah, he gets off on power alright," Duo mumbled probably to himself. I do not think he meant me to hear that and I did not question him further. We had to hurry if we wanted to get back to class on time. Lunch break was almost over. 

A few days later, we were in the gym having physical education. Maxwell was in the class with me and we were both completely bored listening to the other boys complain at having to run more laps. From our training, a few laps around a gym did not even cause us to get winded like the other boys. It was even a mixed level class so not only were there freshmen in the class but also sophomores, juniors, and a few seniors. Well, a few specific seniors to be exact. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the China Doll and his queer," Blake jeered. 

"Shove it, Blake. I'm warning you," I growl up at the taller teen. 

"No, Doll-baby. But I bet you would like to," he smirked and then turned to Maxwell. "I bet he likes to shove it every night. Does he pay you for it or do you give it away for free, whore?" 

"Shut the hell up!" I command almost yelling. Maxwell for some reason is not responding to the other boys. He is stonily looking away from them with his body rigid with anger…or is it fear. I wonder what is wrong with him. 

"Don't mind the little Doll, Maxwell," Blake said mockingly as he grabbed Duo's chin to force him to look up. "He's just jealous that someone else got a taste of your sweet ass first." He punctuated his statement by slapping him hard on the buttocks. 

I was in mid-swing to hit that bastard when the gym teacher came up and shooed us in different directions. The older boys just laughed and walked off into the locker room to change. Maxwell and I stayed in the gym for a few minutes waiting for them to leave. It was our last class of the day and we did not have to rush to get to another one. When we finally did go and change, Maxwell still had not said anything. 

"Duo, what is wrong? Why didn't you stop him from doing that to you?" 

"What would you want me to say? That it wasn't true?" He finally exclaims. "I can't lie, Fei."  
"What's that supposed to mean? He called you a whore and a queer and stuff like that." 

"Umm, newsflash Chang, I was a street whore," he retorted sourly. 

"But the other stuff…" 

"It's not exactly women who want to fuck a little boy! Come on WuFei, you're smarter than this. I thought you realized before!" 

I licked my lips and responded truthfully in a quiet voice, "I never really thought about that." 

"Heh, I always thought everyone could tell. I thought it was obvious…like `Here's Duo, the queer' or something," He said dejectedly sitting on the bench in the locker room. 

I contemplate what he's told me for a minute before something hits me. "If your sexuality is obvious, Blake would be able to figure it out but how would he know you were a prostitute?" 

"Some men are so sick that they even drag their sons along." 

"What?!"  
"Blake's father was a businessman who regularly dealt with companies in my colony. He was also known to frequent the shadier side of the spaceport. That was where the best business for us was. Travelers had more money to spend on tricks. The one time he came, he brought his son along. It was that bastard's 14th birthday and his old man thought he was old enough to get some real entertainment." 

"That's disgusting!" 

"Some people are just twisted. But yeah, his reasoning was that if his son was to be a real ladies man, he had to learn how to do it before he embarrassed himself by having his first time with one of them. I think they thought I was a girl, a lot did. But Joshua picked me out and even after the price was negotiated and they found out I was a boy, it didn't matter. He ended up not paying for it since I wasn't what he wanted."  
"Maxwell…I…I ah…"  
"Don't worry `bout it. It's long past. I'm surprised he even recognized me," Duo shrugged. "I didn't realize it was him until he confronted me a few days before you got here. He threatened me not to tell anyone that he had fucked me before since that would make him look queer too."  
"How did he threaten you? I mean, he doesn't have a chance if he tries to fight you."  
"Easy, he threatened to tell the school officials that I'm nothing but a filthy street whore who probably lied, cheated, and stole to get in here. He'd blow my cover, Fei." 

I remained silent thinking after that. That bastard Blake was worse than I thought. Just beating him to a bloody pulp was too good for him. Somehow he had to pay for what he had done. We left the locker room in silence. 

When we got into the dormitory, all hell broke loose. A group of larger boys pushed us into the common room. Side by side, Maxwell and I were led to face Blake. That bastard was smiling at us. 

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Tonight's entertainment! Not only do we get to play with the fag, but we can play with the doll too!" 

"I'm warning you Blake. Keep your hands off of us!" I assert. 

"Ooo…little China Doll's gotten feisty." 

"I mean it. I will break anything that comes near us."  
"You? You're just a little doll! What are you going to do? Kung Fu us? Did your little China-bitch teach you to fight before she kicked you out?" 

With that, Blake advanced on us and tried to grab for Maxwell's arm. The others moved in at that moment but all I could see was Blake. I struck his arm and started to counter attack. I saw Maxwell duck a sucker punch and punch the kid in the stomach. A few others tried to pull me back from Blake but I knocked them away without taking my eyes off the bastard. I saw a flash of light reflecting off of a knife blade and realized that Duo had come armed. He was laughing now like he did when piloting. 

"The God of Death is ready to escort you to Hell!" 

"Maxwell!" I exclaim. "No killing! They're just students!" 

"Right," he replied. "It's a matter for Justice not Death."  
By then I had knocked Blake to the floor and he was cowering there clutching his arm. The other boys were backing away against the wall from Maxwell and his knives. It could also have been from the insane laughter, manic grin, and talk of killing that scared them too. Giving the others one last look I glared down at the bastard with the disgust I felt towards him evident on my face. I was joined by Duo a moment later. 

"You broke my fucking arm!" He yelled up at me. 

"I'll break it off if you don't shut the hell up!" I growled as I leaned down over him. "Now tell everyone here exactly how you know that Maxwell was a whore. I'm sure they'd love to hear about it. How you got him as a birthday present because you thought he was pretty. And then how you didn't pay for him. Now come on, last time I heard, you had to pay for a whore…" 

"Why would I want to fuck a boy? That's gay!" 

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it four years ago. In fact, you had a good old time if I remember," Maxwell said icily. I had never heard his voice sound so cold. At that moment I could really believe that he was Death about to deliver final justice. "If you really didn't want a boy, you wouldn't have fucked me. The least you could have paid me. If you don't pay a whore, that either rape or a good time. Now, since I went in to it willingly, then it must have been a good time. You have fun with any more boys since then?" 

By that time, Blake was shaking on the ground as his posse looked on. Of course, if I was in his shoes, Maxwell is damn scary when he wants to be. But I had to laugh when I realized that the bastard wet his pants in fear. 

"What's the matter Blake? Did you just piss yourself from fear or did you just cream your pants just by looking at a pretty boy?" I taunted. 

I grabbed Maxwell's arm and turned to leave the bastard there in his puddle of piss. We had to leave. Our cover was not exactly blown but we could no longer stay there without questions being ask. We ran to our dorm and quickly packed. As we were making our way out of the building, we about ran into Stewart. 

"Wu-f-f-fei!" 

"Stewart, we gotta get out of here! I won't be back this time!" I explain. 

"I know. The he-head ma-a-aster's lookin' f-for you. S-someone t-t-t-old. B-blake is e-e-ex-pelled. The-ey w-w-want to see I-if you-you-your ok." 

"We were just hiding here anyways, Stewart," I respond. "We're not students anymore. Never were this time." 

"O-okay." 

"Hey, Stu!" Duo exclaims. "If anyone else gives you any problems, just contact us…we'll send a couple of gundams your way to tromp down the bad dudes!" 

"Th-anks!" 

We vacated the premises before most even knew we were leaving. I did not question Duo's choice to tell Stewart who we are. The boy was probably the only friend I had at school. I would try to contact him if I survived the war to see what happened at the school. But for now, we had other things to worry about than school bullies. There was still a war going on and it needed a little more of Death and Justice. 

Owari. 

~~X~~ 

AN: I finally wrote something (that didn't involve Fei's penis - GO DWPS!). Sorry for not updating for a while. Real life has taken over…not that I mind…I finally found myself a man! W00t go me! Anyways, thanks for reading! ~slh 


End file.
